This document presents the results of an experimental study on the use of waste marble dust as a partial replacement for sand in concrete. Four concrete mixtures were prepared with 0%, 25%, 50%, and 100% replacement of sand with marble dust. The compressive, tensile, and flexural strengths of the concrete mixtures were tested at curing ages of 3, 7, and 28 days. The results showed that concrete with a 50% replacement of sand with marble dust achieved the highest compressive strength. The 25% replacement mixture performed nearly as well as the 0% replacement mixture. Using waste marble dust as a partial replacement for sand in concrete is a potential way to improve the sustainability of the construction industry.

1. Mr. Aalok D. Sakalkale Int. Journal of Engineering Research and Applications www.ijera.com
ISSN : 2248-9622, Vol. 4, Issue 10( Part - 6), October 2014, pp.44-50
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Experimental Study on Use of Waste Marble Dust in Concrete
Aalok D. Sakalkale1
, G. D. Dhawale2
, R. S. Kedar3
1.M-Tech IV Sem(Structural Engineering)Department of Civil Engineering, BDCE, Wardha
2.Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, BDCE, Wardha
3.Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, BDCE, Wardha
Abstract
Concrete is the most important component used in the construction industry throughout the world, where the
fine aggregate is generally natural sand. The use of sand in construction activities results in the excessive
mining. Due to excessive mining, natural resources are getting exhausted, results in increase in scour depth and
sometimes flood possibility. Thus, it is becoming inevitable to use alternative material in concrete.Marble is one
of the important materials used in the construction industry. Marble powder is produced from processing plants
during the sawing and polishing of marble blocks and about 20 - 25% of the processed marble is turn into
powder form. Disposal of the marble powder material from the marble industry is one of the environmental
problems worldwide today.The present study is aimed at utilizing Waste marble powder construction industry
itself as fine aggregate in concrete, replacing natural sand. The replacement is done partially and fully in the
proportion 0%, 25%, 50% and 100% and its effect on properties of concrete were investigated.
I. Introduction
Concrete is a widely used construction material
consisting of cementing material, fine aggregate,
coarse aggregate and required quantity of water,
where the fine aggregate is usually natural sand. The
use of sand in construction results in excessive sand
mining which is objectionable. Due to rapid growth
in construction activity, the available sources of
natural sand are getting exhausted. Also, good quality
sand may have to be transported from long distance,
which adds to the cost of construction. Therefore, it is
necessary to replace natural sand in concrete by an
alternate material either partially or completely
without compromising the quality of concrete.
Waste marble dust is one such material which
can be used to replace sand as fine aggregate. The
present study is aimed at utilizing Waste marble
powder as fine aggregate in concrete, replacing
natural sand. Marble is one of the most important
materials used in buildings since ancient times,
especially for decorative purposes. Marble powder is
produced from processing plants during the sawing
and polishing of marble blocks and about 25% of the
processed marble is turn into powder form. Disposal
of the marble powder material from the marble
industry is one of the environmental problems
worldwide today.
One of the logical means for reduction of the
waste marble powder is utilizing them in building
industry itself. Some attempts have been made to find
and assess the possibilities of using waste marble
powder in mortars and concretes and results about
strength and workability were compared with control
samples of conventional mortar/concrete.
The present study investigate the effects of using
waste marble dust (WMD) as a fine material on the
mechanical properties of the concrete. For this
purpose four different series of concrete-mixtures
will be prepared by replacing the fine sand with
WMD at proportions of 0, 25, 50 and 100% by
weight. In order to determine the effect of the WMD
with respect to the curing age, standard mechanical
properties of concrete are to be analyzed at the curing
ages of 3, 7, 28 days.
II. Scope and Objective
1) To study the effect of use of waste marble dust
on the mechanical properties of concrete.
2) To compare the compressive, flexural and tensile
strength using WMD with the given design mix.
3) To establish alternative for sand with partial use
of WMD in concrete.
III. Methodology
A total of four series of concrete specimens
including the control specimen were prepared in
order to examine the effect of substituting marble
dust (0, 25, 50 and 100% by weight) in place of sand
to investigate the basic strength properties of
concrete.
Ordinary Portland cement (OPC), grade 43
confirming to IS 8112:1989 was used throughout the
investigation. The marble dust obtained as an
industrial byproduct directly from the deposits of
RESEARCH ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS

2. Mr. Aalok D. Sakalkale Int. Journal of Engineering Research and Applications www.ijera.com
ISSN : 2248-9622, Vol. 4, Issue 10( Part - 6), October 2014, pp.44-50
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marble factories is used as a sand replacement
material.
The coarse aggregate used in this investigation
have a maximum size of 20 mm with grading
confirming to IS-383-1970. The natural river sand
passing through 4.75mm sieves is used throughout
the process.
The design of concrete mix is done as per
guidelines of IS 10262: 2009 with a grade of M25
concrete. The mixing of concrete is done using a
standard mechanical mixer. The mixing is to be done
for two minutes for all the ingredients to feed inside
the mixer.
Compaction of all the specimen was done by
using shake table vibrator. The top surface of
concrete is leveled and finished smooth. After six
hours, the specimen detail and date of concreting will
be specified on top surface to identify it properly.
The compressive test and the flexural strength
test are performed as per IS 516 : 1959 and split
tensile test is performed as per IS 5816 : 1970.
Various tests on the concrete ingredients that were
required, given by -
Sr. No. T e s t s R e s u l t
1 Specific gravity of cement 3 . 1 5
2 C o n s i s t e n c y 3 2 %
3 I n i t i a l s e t t i n g t i m e 7 4 m i n
4 F i n a l s e t t i n g t i m e 255 min
5 Specific gravity of sand 2 . 6 1
6 Specific gravity of aggregate 2 . 8
7 Aggregate impact value 5 . 2 6 %
8 Aggregate crushing value 15 .09 %
Waste marble dust
Marble powder is produced from the marble
processing plants during the cutting, shaping and
polishing. During this process, about 20-25% of the
process marble is turn into the powder form. India
being the topmost exporter of marble, every year
million tons of marble waste form processing plants
are released. The disposal of this waste marble on
soils causes reduction in permeability and
contaminates the over ground water when deposited
along catchment area.
Thus, utilizing these marble waste in
construction industry itself would help to protect the
environment from dumpsites of marble and also limit
the excessive mining of natural resources of sand.
Physical properties
 Colour - White
 Form - Powder
 Odour - Odourless
 Specific gravity - 2.68 gm/cm3
Chemical properties
IV. Concrete Mix Design
A mix M25 grade was designed as per Indian
Standard method (IS 10262-2009) and the same was
used to prepare the test samples.
M a t e r i a l M 2 5 G r a d e
C e m e n t 3 5 0 k g / m 3
S a n d 8 6 0 k g / m 3
A g g r e g a t e 1 0 9 6 k g / m 3
W a t e r 1 6 8 l i t s .
w / c r a t i o 0 . 4 8
Thus, for the given design mix, the proportion of
the material for the replacement sand with the marble
powder is done as per following quantities (kg/m3
) –
Specimen
M25
grade
Cement
(Kg)
Sand
(Kg)
Aggregate
(Kg)
Water
(Kg)
Marbledust
(Kg)
MD 0% 3 5 0 8 6 0 1096 1 6 8 0
MD 25% 3 5 0 6 4 5 1096 1 6 8 2 1 5
MD 50% 3 5 0 4 3 0 1096 1 6 8 4 3 0
MD 100% 3 5 0 0 1096 1 6 8 8 6 0
O X I D E S O P C – 43 ( % ) W M D ( % )
C a O 6 0 – 6 7 4 0 . 4 5
S i O 2 1 7 – 2 5 2 8 . 3 5
A l 2 O 3 3 . 0 – 8 . 0 0 . 4 2
F e 2 O 3 0 . 5 - 6 . 0 9 . 7 0
M g O 0 . 1 – 4 . 0 1 6 . 2 5

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ISSN : 2248-9622, Vol. 4, Issue 10( Part - 6), October 2014, pp.44-50
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Fig. 1 Weighing and mixing of materials
Slump Test
The slump of the concrete is defined as the
vertical settlement of the unsupported fresh concrete
flows to the sides when sinking in height takes place.
The slump is the measure indicating the
consistency or workability of the cement concrete. It
is the measure of the water content needed for
concrete to be used for different works. Concrete is
said to be workable if it is easily mixed, placed and
compacted.
Fig. 2 Slump of concrete
V. Results
Compressive strength
Compressive strength tests were performed on
compression testing machine using cube samples.
Three specimens for each mix were prepared and
tested. The average failure load and the strengths
obtained are given by –
‗
Fig. 3 Testing of concrete cubes
3 d a y s 7 d a y s 2 8 d a y s
M 2 5 g r a d e Failure load (KN) Comp. strength (N/mm2) Failure load (KN) Comp. strength (N/mm2) Failure load (KN) Comp. strength (N/mm2)
M D 0 % 4 8 0 2 1 . 3 3 4 9 0 2 1 . 7 8 7 1 4 3 1 . 7 3
Specimen M25 grade Slu mp Valu e
(mm)
M D 0 % 5 4
M D 2 5 % 6 2
M D 5 0 % 7 8
M D 1 0 0 % 9 5

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ISSN : 2248-9622, Vol. 4, Issue 10( Part - 6), October 2014, pp.44-50
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M D 2 5 % 5 0 0 2 2 . 2 2 5 0 2 . 6 7 2 2 . 3 4 7 4 5 3 3 . 1 1
M D 5 0 % 5 0 4 . 6 7 2 2 . 4 3 5 2 0 2 3 . 1 1 7 9 9 . 6 7 3 5 . 5 4
M D 1 0 0 % 3 0 0 . 3 3 1 3 . 3 5 2 1 9 . 6 7 9 . 7 6 4 7 9 . 6 7 2 1 . 3 2
It is observed that 50 % WMD mix is the maximum optimum % of WMD and again further increasing
the WMD% the compressive strength is gradually decreases.
Split Tensile Strength
The average failure load and the split tensile strength obtained after 3, 7 and 28 days of curing for
cylindrical specimen is given by –
Fig. 4 Testing of cylinder speciman.
3 d a y s 7 d a y s 2 8 d a y s
M 2 5 g r a d e Failure load (KN) Slit tensile strength (N/mm2) Failure load (KN) Slit tensile strength (N/mm2) Failure load (KN) Slit tensile strength (N/mm2)
M D 0 % 3 7 7 . 6 7 5 . 3 5 3 8 8 . 3 3 5 . 5 0 5 7 3 . 3 3 8 . 1 2
M D 2 5 % 3 5 6 . 3 3 5 . 0 4 3 6 4 . 3 3 5 . 1 6 5 6 0 . 0 0 7 . 9 3
M D 5 0 % 3 2 0 . 6 7 4 . 5 4 3 3 8 . 3 3 4 . 7 9 4 8 8 . 3 3 6 . 9 1
M D 1 0 0 % 2 0 7 . 6 7 2 . 9 4 2 1 9 . 6 7 3 . 1 1 2 6 9 . 6 7 3 . 8 2
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
21.33
22.22
22.43
13.35
21.78
22.34
23.11
9.76
31.73
33.11
35.54
21.32
Comp.strength(N/mm2)
Comp. strength Vs. WMD %
3 days
7 days
28 days
WMD (%)
10050250

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ISSN : 2248-9622, Vol. 4, Issue 10( Part - 6), October 2014, pp.44-50
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The maximum tensile strength is obtained at 0% WMD mix. However, the tensile strength at 25% WMD
mix is coming nearly equal to the tensile strength at 0% WMD. Thus, 25% WMD mix can also give better
tensile strength.
Flexural Strength
The average failure load and the flexural strength obtained after 3, 7 and 28 days of curing for beam
specimen is given by –
Fig. 5 Testing of concrete beam
3 d a y s 7 d a y s 2 8 d a y s
M 2 5 g r a d e Failure load (KN) Flexural strength(N/mm2) Failure load (KN) Flexural strength(N/mm2) Failure load (KN) Flexural strength (N/mm2)
M D 0 % 1 5 . 2 7 2 . 9 4 1 7 . 1 3 3 . 3 0 2 3 . 0 0 4 . 4 3
M D 2 5 % 1 5 . 8 0 3 . 0 4 1 8 . 5 0 3 . 5 6 2 4 . 4 0 4 . 7 0
M D 5 0 % 1 6 . 3 3 3 . 1 5 1 9 . 4 0 3 . 7 4 2 6 . 4 7 5 . 1 0
M D 1 0 0 % 1 1 . 4 7 2 . 2 1 1 2 . 6 3 2 . 4 3 1 8 . 2 0 3 . 5 1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
5.35
5.04
4.54
2.94
5.50
5.16
4.79
3.11
8.12
7.93
6.91
3.82
Tensilestrength(N/mm2)
WMD %
Tensile strength Vs. WMD %
3 day
7 day
28 day
0 25 50 100

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ISSN : 2248-9622, Vol. 4, Issue 10( Part - 6), October 2014, pp.44-50
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The maximum flexural strength is achieved at 50% WMD mix, at all thecuring ages. Thus, 50% WMD
mix gives the optimum percentage of WMD.
VI. Discussion
 With the inclusion of Marble powder the
compressive and flexural strength of concrete
gradually increases upto a certain limit but then
gradually decreases.
 With the inclusion of Marble powder upto50%,
there is 10.72% increase in compressive strength
and 13.13% increase in flexural strength for 28
days curing.
 The maximum tensile strength is obtained at 0%
substitution of marble powder and with the
addition of WMD the strength gradually
decreases.
VII. Conclusion
1. The compressive strength of concrete is
increased with addition of waste marble powder
up to 50% by weight in place of sand and further
any addition of waste marble powder the
compressive strength decreases.
2. The split tensile strength of cylinders is
decreased with addition of waste marble powder,
from control mix to 100% replacement of sand.
3. However, the tensile strength at 25%
replacement of sand is coming nearly equal to
the tensile strength at control mix. Thus, 25%
sand replacement with WMD can also give better
tensile strength.
4. The flexural strength of beams is also increased
with addition of waste marble powder up to 50%
sand replacement and then gradually decreases.
5. Thus, we found out the optimum percentage for
replacement of sand with marble powder in
concrete is almost 50%.
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0
1
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2.94
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ISSN : 2248-9622, Vol. 4, Issue 10( Part - 6), October 2014, pp.44-50
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